The Thing From Another Outpost
by CJFouraki
Summary: What happened after the events of Outpost 31? Was the thing truly destroyed? Or has it found a new target? When people start to go missing and strange attacks start to take place in Copper Station, a young woman must lead a small group to try and unravel the truth behind the mayhem...
1. Gasoline

MacReady and Childs trudged through the snow, the wind howling constantly, the flames on their sticks flickering, struggling to stay alive in the deadly conditions. MacReady came to a stop in the snow.

"Childs!" MacReady cried out, his voice barely louder than the piercing winds. "Childs!"

Childs stopped moving and slowly turned to face MacReady, the torch's flame quivering in front of his face. He wiped away the snow smeared across his goggles.

"What?" Childs yelled back.

"Can you see thirty one from here?" MacReady shouted "Do you know where we came from?"

Childs looked back pass the bulky figure of MacReady into the darkness of the night. He kept turning, searching through the pitch black that surrounded him but he could see no flames.

"No!" Childs exclaimed "I can't see shit out here!"

MacReady, trudged over to Childs, his multiple woolen jackets blowing in the freezing winds. With one swift motion, MacReady pulled Childs' torch from his hand and plunged it deep into the snow. MacReady's torch then followed suit, extinguishing itself in the ice cold white that surrounded them. Darkness enveloped the men.

"You damn lunatic! Why'd you do that!" Childs cried out in a panic.

"Because no man can chug gasoline like you did before Childs!" MacReady bellowed, his laughter being carried off with the wind.

Childs stared blankly at MacReady, who was slowly moving away from him. Childs started to twitch, then his body erupted into a series of convulsions. His scream filled the night, louder and more piercing than the winter's wind itself.

"What's the point you fucking abomination? There's nowhere to go! You'll freeze like you freezed before!" MacReady laughed.

Childs continued to convulse, blood streaming out of his nose and ears. His skin began to push outwards, the thick clothes, starting to tear off his body. MacReady could barely see what was happening, but he didn't need to anyway. He'd seen it before. Child's neck tore open, blood gushing out onto the snow and MacReady's boots. His eyes sunk into the back of his head as long, bony legs protruded through the holes. Childs grew bloated, his skin turning into pasty globs as more bony legs pushed through, blood squirting out of every orphus. The scream turned into something from out of a nightmare as the thing lurched towards MacReady.

"Fuck you!" MacReady yelled as the thing stabbed one of its bony protrusions through his torso.

The thing collapsed on top of MacReady, its skin absorbing him into the bloated and gooey corpse of Childs. MacReady screamed and cursed, but he was muffled by the convulsing thing on top of him and the howling winds of the night. The muffled screams became shorter and quieter and soon subsided. The bloated thing lay still, pulsating every so often, the snow gently falling onto it. It did not move for what may have been hours, simply laying dormant in the snow. MacReady's head suddenly protruded from within the body and was elevated high above the ground by a long, slimy tentacle. The head turned slowly, looking into the darkness. It saw a small light gleam in the distance, a beacon in the darkness. With lightning speed, the bony legs pushed the pulsating corpses of Childs and MacReady into the air and started trudging through the snow with its bony legs towards the light, blood slowly seeping out into the snow. The lack of flames and debris meant it wasn't Outpost 31, but somewhere new.

And the thing was headed right towards it.


	2. Ping Pong

The plastic ball bounced off the wooden table, clicking as it hopped along the tiled floor until it came to a stop. A middle aged man with dark hair and sky blue eyes picked up the ball from its resting place, a frustrated look painted across his face. He returned to the table and brought his wooden paddle up to serve the ball.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Blake, you would think that over the last six months of continuous sessions with me, you'd be able to play well" a young, red headed woman smiled, her hazel eyes sparkling in the light.

"Give me a break Lauren. Not everyone has to be a ping pong champion like you" Blake replied, serving the ball across the table.

Lauren flicked her wrist and sent the ball back over to Blake's side, bouncing it right on the corner of the table. Blake reeled backwards in a desperate attempt to hit the ball back, lobbing it high up into the air. Lauren waited for the ball to bounce before slamming it down back to Blake's side. Just as he recovered, the plastic ball bounced off the table straight into his cheek leaving a tiny red mark and a stinging sensation.

"That stung" he laughed.

"I don't call it the stinger for nothing" Lauren laughed, brushing her bright red hair out of her face. "I think that's the game Blake. Wanna get something to eat?".

"You bet your ass I do. Haven't eaten since early this morning. Reckon I can eat a person right about now" he chuckled, putting the paddle and ball down onto the table.

The two walked through the room past the various people playing on the pinball machines scattered around. They left the recreational area and started down a long, illuminated corridor.

"Should we see if Hui wants to come with us?" Blake asked looking at Lauren.

"Sure. It wouldn't hurt her to get out of the lab for a while" she replied.

They walked further along the corridor, their feet making light clapping sounds as they moved along the tiled floor. They passed an open room filled with men and women frantically walking around, checking computers and passing papers to each other. The noise of their yells followed them for the rest of the way down the corridor until they walked into the lab. They walked passed rows and rows of tables with people casually lying around in their chairs, checking their notes and simply staring at their screens. They got to the end of the room where a middle aged, chinese woman was resting her head on a dark oak desk.

"Earth to miss Zhong, I repeat. Earth to miss Zhong" Lauren said robotically.

Hui stirred and then suddenly sprung awake looking at Lauren and Blake. She blew her jet black hair out of her face, revealing her enchanting green eyes. She let loose with a big grin and got up from her desk.

"What brings you to my little corner of the world?" Hui asked, still grinning.

"Came to see if you wanted to have dinner with us" Blake responded, scratching at his stubble.

"Thought it would be good for you to get out and about" Lauren smiled.

Hui looked behind her at the ticking clock on the wall then down at her stomach.

"Sure. It's not like this piece of junk is letting me work anyway" Hui said, slapping the monolithic computer monitor's plastic surface. "I'm famished!" she exclaimed.

The three people walked out of the lab and back into the corridor. They walked into another room and opened up their metal lockers and each pulled out heavy coats. They put them on and headed back out into the corridor, heading to the final doorway. Blake pushed the handle and then pressed his body against the large door, opening it. They trudged out into the snow, Blake closing the door behind them. They hurried along the open ground to the building opposite them, all three shivering as the wind blew against them.

"Colder than usual" Lauren shuddered.

"Damn wind is getting a lot stronger out here now, especially since it's winter" Hui responded, also shivering.

Blake trudged ahead of them and pulled on the door, swinging it open. The women hurried in and Blake followed suit, letting the door swing shut behind them. They took their coats and jackets off and brushed the snow flakes out of their hair. They walked down the corridor, being greeted by laughter and shouting as they approached the cafeteria.

"It seems like nearly everybody is here!" Blake shouted over the laughing crowd.

"Yeah! Should we try finding a seat?" Lauren cried out.

The group nodded and started to head into the cafeteria, walking through the crowds of men and women who were eating and drinking. There were televisions hanging from the ceiling all around the room, playing "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", captivating the drunken and sober audience alike.

"Hey! There's Rachel and Christian! Over there by the wall!" Hui shouted, pointing at a blonde bombshell and a young, ash haired man.

The group pushed through the crowd once again to the back wall. They slumped down into the seats next to Rachel and Christian, breathing heavily from the ordeal of pushing through a hundred people. Rachel and Christian both laughed at the sight of their slumped friends, their brown eyes sparkling with life.

"How are you guys?" Christian asked.

"Hungry" replied Lauren "How you guys doing?".

"We're fine baby. We were just getting ready to call Kevin over for some food" Rachel responded.

"Isn't that Kevin over there?" Blake pointed at a built figure clambering on top of one of the tables.

"Yeah it is. What's the old git up to this time?" Hui asked.

The group watched as Kevin lifted two pans above his head and started to slam them together, making a cacophonous sound ring out across the cafeteria. The crowd started to take notice slowly and quieted down.

"Come on everybody! Shut up for just a second you buggers!" Kevin grumbled loudly.

The crowd laughed and turned to look at the muscular, old man slamming pans together on top of a table.

"Where's my food Kevin?" somebody from the crowd yelled out laughing.

"You'll get it later you fat fuck!" the crowd roared with laughter. "Alright! Calm down! First, I gotta let you all know something. Seems like last night the natives of this wonderful, freezing hell hole got through the fence. So Campbell and Lancaster are calling for the fence patrol to start heading out now to conduct a search".

A large portion of the crowd including Blake and Lauren groaned.

"As for the rest of you" Kevin continued "be on the lookout for anything that doesn't belong in here. Like penguins, seals and the abominable snowman!".

The crowd laughed again, causing Kevin to slam the pans once more.

"Now get out of here!" Kevin shouted before slowly climbing down from the table, being helped by two men.

"Shit. I guess we'll see you guys later then" Lauren sighed.

The group said its goodbyes and split up, Blake and Lauren heading for the corridor and out into the snow with the rest of the fence patrol. They trudged along the fence together, the icy wind blowing against them. They finally reached the portion of the fence that everyone else was crowded around. Lauren looked at the hole

"There's no way the natives caused that" she whispered.

Blake nodded in agreement.


	3. Tingles and Jingles

The chain link fence had been torn open, pushed inwards, the jagged fence parts tinted with blood. The sign "Copper Station" was dented and barely hanging from the fence. People gasped at the size of the hole and the damage that had been done to it and by it. It was bigger than what was required for a seal to get through, but still had ripped flesh in areas a seal would be unable to reach. An elderly man dressed in a thick coat and buff pants pulled the bits of flesh from the fence and held them up, examining them. They were frozen solid, the arctic winter weather having taken its tole. A younger man pushed through the crowd and joined the elderly man at the fence.

"Reckon it was a seal Lancaster?" the young man asked, observing the flesh in Lancaster's hand with his blue eyes.

"Could be, but it'd have to be a pretty damn big seal to make this kind of damage" Lancaster replied gruffly, pointing at the hole.

"Could have been a herd of feral penguins, huh?" the young man chuckled, scratching his oak coloured beard..

"Quit it with the jokes Campbell" Lancaster said sternly "whatever it was, we didn't even see it come in. Now it's roaming around a hundred or so buildings and a construction active area. Last thing we need are those fucking animal rights bastards getting on our case because we crushed a few of the fucking natives".

"Alright, alright. Should we start splitting them into groups then?" Campbell asked, nodding to the small crowd surrounding the fence.

"Yeah, alright. Get them ready".

* * *

"Blake, what do you think got through the fence?" Lauren asked as they trudged through the snow along the fence line "I mean, it was completely torn open".

"I dunno, could have been a seal like Lancaster said" Blake replied, his breath leaving his body in a misty cloud.

"You honestly think a seal would've torn through without giving a fuck about ripping its own flesh?" Lauren continued "seals don't tend to move around much at all when they're hurt".

"Well, the base is only a short distance from the ocean so it isn't implausible that a leopard seal or something broke through" Blake readjusted his coat. "Speaking of leopard seals, is the gun loaded? I don't want to be the next Gareth" he said, looking at the rifle hanging on Lauren's shoulder.

"Yeah. The tranq dart is in there. If we see one of those fuckers, I'll just let one rip into its side and we won't have to lose some meat like Gareth did" she paused. "How is that prick?" Lauren smirked.

"Last time I saw him, he seemed fine. Keeps to his room a lot though. Must be irritating to walk around with a gnawed leg" Blake grimaced, his body shivering even more with the thought of a butchered limb.

Lauren noticed the extra shivers coursing through Blake "oh, stop being such a pussy! I won't let the seals get to you" she took the rifle off her shoulder and held it in her arms, pointing it in front of them. "Not while I have this bad mother fucker with me" she smirked.

With an awful British accent, Blake replied "it's very unladylike of you to be using such profanity miss Carter".

"Oh shut up you jerk" Lauren smiled.

And as they continued to walk along the fence in the freezing cold, they both laughed, the piercing wind carrying the sounds off into the distance.

* * *

"What have you guys got planned for tomorrow? You swapping schedules with someone again or are you actually gonna go in to work?" Hui asked as she walked down the hallway with Christian and Rachel.

"We're doing some important calculations tomorrow so I'm going to work. I'm getting bored around here anyway and I need to keep myself occupied" Rachel replied.

"Might go see how the guys are doing with the construction, help if I can. We're still waiting on some parts to be delivered and they won't be here for another week" Christian responded.

They continued down the hallway, the lights slowly dimming as they went along. Hui pulled her sleeve back and looked at her watch.

"It's getting late. Anybody still up for some snooker?" Hui said, pointing down the adjoining corridor.

Christian and Rachel looked at each other then back at Hui.

"I've been meaning to play, but I'm kinda tired and I might head back to my room. What about you Rachel?" Christian asked, scratching his head.

"Sorry Hui. Maybe tomorrow. I'm still recovering from that last beating I got from you" Rachel chuckled.

"Yeah, okay. That's fine. I need some rest anyway. I fell asleep during work today and had to have Lauren wake me" Hui smiled. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow then".

"Yeah, see ya Hui" Christian said starting off down the corridor.

"Bye Hui" Rachel said, following him.

Hui stood alone in the dimly lit corridor, watching after them.

"Not too tired to have sex" Hui said to herself as she walked down a different corridor. "Oh well, at least someone's getting some action out here" she smirked, tapping down the tiled corridor.

* * *

Rachel giggled as Christian lifted her off the floor, burying his head into her neck. She wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed around his neck, holding on to him as he backed her up to the wall.

"You couldn't wait until we were in our room?" Rachel continued to giggle.

Christian gave a muffled reply.

"What?" she laughed.

Christian brought his head out and looked at her, grinning "I'm a horny bastard" and pushed his head into her chest, continuing to move along the wall until they were up against the door to their room.

Rachel let out a series of gasps and giggles as they got more intense in their actions. She heard the sound of Christian undoing his pants and then soon felt his hand reach between her legs, trying to pull down on the zipper.

"Here, let me help" she said, breathing heavily.

Her blonde hair had fallen down in front of her eyes, blocking her line of sight to where the action was about to take place. She flicked her head back, her hair swinging out of her eyes. As she started to look down again to help Christian along, something caught her eye across the corridor. Rachel's heart started to beat a little faster, but not because of what Christian was doing. The door to the washroom was wide open, the lights flickering on the lime tiled walls and floors. At the very back of the room, she could see what she thought was tattered rags. And along with those tattered rags was a pool of blood that they were stewing in.

"Oh my God! Chr...Christian!" Rachel stammered.

Christian didn't pay any attention, continuing to push into her.

"Christian! Stop!" Rachel said, slapping the back of his head.

Christian pulled his head away from her breasts, looking at her as if annoyed "what is it? What's wrong?" he asked.

Rachel pushed Christian off of her and pointed across the corridor to the tatters. Christian pulled his pants up and so did Rachel, slowly shuffling towards the washroom as they did so. The lights continued to flicker and as they did, both Christian and Rachel could see that there were blood splatters going all the way up the wall, stopping at the ceiling.

"That's so much blood" Rachel whispered.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Christian said as he ran back down the corridor.

He reached a small red box on the wall, and using his elbow, broke through the small glass casing. The glass jingled as it hit the tiled floor. Christian grabbed on to the small handle and pulled downwards.

"It's okay Rachel! Help's coming!" Christian yelled down the hallway to Rachel who was now slumped on the floor in shock. The emergency sirens started to ring and echo throughout the complex. "Help's coming" he whispered to himself.


End file.
